Delay Brexit trade talks until the new year, says Varadkar

The Irish prime minister, Leo Varadkar, suggested that the Irish border row would not be solved in time for next week’s summitCHARLES MCQUILLAN/GETTY IMAGES

Theresa May’s efforts to win EU approval to start trade talks were last night losing momentum after Leo Varadkar signalled that the Irish border row would not be solved in time for next week’s crucial summit.

Mrs May yesterday spoke to both the Irish prime minister and Arlene Foster, the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, but there was little sign of a breakthrough on how Britain could meet its promise to avoid a hard border after Brexit.

Theresa May told Mr Varadkar that she was “working hard to find a specific solution” on the Irish borderFacundo Arrizabalaga/EPA

With Mrs May under intense pressure from business for certainty by Christmas over the transition to a new UK-EU relationship, the second phase of Brexit talks, Mr Varadkar told the Irish parliament: “We want to move to phase two but if it is not possible to move…

Want to read more?

Subscribe now and get unlimited digital access on web and our smartphone and tablet apps, free for your first month.